On The Record Episode 53: The state of terrestrial radio

Compared to the way things were as recently as 10 or even five years ago, the radio industry is virtually unrecognizable. Here, in the age of the aux cable, streaming services, and in the golden age of podcasting, terrestrial radio ratings are dipping as listener attention is being pulled more ways than ever before. Still, there will always be a place for radio.

With an on-air résumé that spans more than 30 years, few (if any) radio personalities in Milwaukee have witnessed more of these changes firsthand than Steve Palec. The longtime host of WKLH’s “Rock N’ Roll Roots” joined 88Nine Radio Milwaukee program director/DJ Jordan Lee and Milwaukee Record‘s Tyler Maas to examine the state of radio. In an 88Nine side studio, the three hosts—with 40 combined years of radio experience…and, uh, 13 months of podcasting—delved into the current climate of both commercial and listener-supported stations and explained why specialization is key to maintaining a following in a rapidly changing industry.

As always, this episode is brought to you by our friends at Ale Asylum. Music in this episode comes courtesy of Piles (“Blue Glue”) and Indonesian Junk (“Shake It With You”). Subscribe to On The Record via iTunes or Stitcher (for free!).